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Springtime is Baby Goat Time

Mark C

Mark C

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This has been a busy spring for newborn kids, but the last two days have broken every record we've had; two days running, with three mamas each.

Thankfully, I rarely see problems, even so, I've assisted by now in dozens of births, but only a few serious. I just finished perhaps the most difficult I've ever seen: the baby billy was breach, with both knees bent up, and it was a small mama (one contraction, with my fingers trying to bring the knees out was so strong I thought she might break one.) Sadly, the little guy was born alive, but had ingested so much of the sack that he strangled before we could get him cleaned out.

But the others are doing fine.
 
It's lambs here. We have had about ten born in the last two days. Two sets of twins night before last, a set of twins last night, set of quads this morning. The quads are from a five year old Romanov ewe. Ewe first and last, two rams in the middle! She had four last year too....but only one ewe last year. This year she did it right and put nice colors on the ewes.
7 more ewes in the next few weeks. Another looks like quads to me....all should be twins or more.
 
I guess I’m spoiled.
I was hoping for pictures.
😊
 
FollowingHim said:
That's a high lambing percentage @Joleneakamama, we're almost all singles and twins here, never more than triplets. Well done. And those are cute lambs with good strong black feet.
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Our old lady Cookie had single lambs the last two years and I was fine with that. She had triplets many times, and carrying the 30 pounds of lamb she would was hard on her. Well, today she gave us triplets AGAIN!
Screenshot_20250416_145726_Gallery.jpg

The kids think we should retire her.....but it's hard to say no to healthy beautiful lambs....and keeping her from a ram might be difficult too.... .so... .?
Two rams and a spotted ewe in front.
 
We had a rough morning today; woke up to a yearling in labor, but after the head alone emerged, I realized we had a major problem: Both legs completely back, couldn't get the shoulders out.

After I talked to a local vet, who told me that he had never had a successful delivery in that position (or by trying to push a fully emerged head back in) - we managed to deliver the baby stillborn, but hopefully saved the mother. He was huge - the biggest I've hard, which was part of the problem.
 
Man_in_the_Middle said:
That is a good looking cow. Nice build, straight back, good sack size, happy calf. You have a keeper!!
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Thankyou. She's a 2-year-old heifer. She wasn't supposed to be a keeper, she was supposed to calve in spring, be weaned now, fatten over winter and be slaughtered in spring as a heifer before cutting her teeth (at which point she's a cow and worth less). But it didn't exactly go to plan. Calving this late I'll struggle to get her prime after raising that calf before she cuts her adult teeth. So she might be a keeper! Cunning animal...

I have mostly hereford-friesian cross cows. They grow calves substantially faster than a pure hereford, due to high milk yield. She's out of one of those, so 3/4 Hereford 1/4 Friesian.
 
FollowingHim said:
Thankyou. She's a 2-year-old heifer. She wasn't supposed to be a keeper, she was supposed to calve in spring, be weaned now, fatten over winter and be slaughtered in spring as a heifer before cutting her teeth (at which point she's a cow and worth less). But it didn't exactly go to plan. Calving this late I'll struggle to get her prime after raising that calf before she cuts her adult teeth. So she might be a keeper! Cunning animal...

I have mostly hereford-friesian cross cows. They grow calves substantially faster than a pure hereford, due to high milk yield. She's out of one of those, so 3/4 Hereford 1/4 Friesian.
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That’s interesting that you guys use the teeth to differentiate between a cow and a heifer. I’ve never heard that before.
Over here they are heifers until they have had their first calf. Pregnant heifers are called springing heifers.
 
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